1. PRODUCT AND SALES TRAINING ARE ONE In interviewing buyers, one of the biggest complaints we hear about is the “walking product brochure.” Reps that aren’t customer issues oriented and are hyper focused on product are dead in their tracks. Customers can gain product knowledge in a myriad of ways. It’s the responsibility of the ... Read Post

There are enough rules out there today about social selling that they could fill several volumes–and do! To keep you on the straight and successful, here are 10 truisms that, if you consistently bear them in mind, should be of great assistance. It’s Goes Well Beyond Sales – for your company to truly support social ... Read Post

An informal survey of salespeople and managers on the quality of sales training reveals that it's terrible. How do you transform it? Read Post

Been thinking that revenue targets would be easier to crush if your new hires would ramp up to speed more quickly? You’re spot-on, my friend. Best-in-class onboarding (or new hire training) programs go well beyond the standard “Welcome to the company” orientation and dive into actual job training. But most programs stop after introducing reps ... Read Post

Do you mind if I start with the obligatory story? I think it’s one you might recognize. It’s the one about a busy sales manager frustrated with the under-trained newbie reps she got as “graduates” from her training department. But this story is about me. I was the “undertrained newbie” – and the boss. I ... Read Post

The way I came to name my consulting firm “The Selling Agency” came from colleague feedback. This very sound advice pushed me to focus on the actual experience, core competencies and key deliverables that would be received by my clients: Narrowing and eliminating the gap on missed opportunities Increasing profit and revenue Positively leveraging resources ... Read Post

My assistant burst into my office with a horrified look on her face! The General Manager of one of our premier hotel clients in Vancouver was on the line and wanted to speak with me IMMEDIATELY. My EA warned me that he was going ballistic. Apparently we had somehow put his entire communications network out ... Read Post

Customer relationship management CRM software is no longer just for large corporations with huge budgets and the IT infrastructure to support the system. Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), which account for 54 percent of all U.S. sales, have realized the advantages of utilizing CRMs and are getting on board as well. The need to ... Read Post